Mr. Jones

In this intense and emotional tale of compassion, rescue and love, director Mike Figgis portrays the antithesis of the Richard Gere he had shown us three years before Mr. Jones' release: A needy, fragile, unstable yet creative and fascinating character versus the sinister, cold-blooded and self-confident officer Dennis Peck in Internal Affairs.

Gere's ability to absorb the script and bring it to life through his inimitable histrionic demeanor has once again amazed me, bringing me into the scene as if I were observing from behind the camera. Another example of a woman assisting a man throughout his struggle is Figgis' Leavign Las Vegas, where Elizabeth Shue chooses to be by Nicholas Cages' side, with the exception of a very sad ending (In this case we had pills instead of bottles). From Final Analysis, Gear switches into the patient's role, making us hold our breath and, needless to say, get a good use out of our handkerchiefs.

I had the pleasure and privilege of seeing Mike Figgis' original cut at the Munich Filmfestival, and liked it a lot. To be honest, I had liked the version that came out in 1993, although I had heard rumors of re-shoots and Figgis not having final cut - and although there were some ridiculous scenes in it. Figgis' version is more believable, albeit darker, but that does make sense, since it is about a manic depressive. Richard Gere is pretty impressive, and it is one of the few times that he's still good when he's doing his free-wheeling high-wire act. But the saddest part about "Mr. Jones" not being recognized for its great moments is the understated performance of Lena Olin, who is almost as good as in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (1988) and in the second season of "Alias".

There's one thing about "Mr. Jones" that's better than the movie itself: the story behind the film. Figgis has incredible stories to tell about the production of the movie and we can only hope that one day he'll share them with us in detail in a book, because it says a lot about Hollywood and its inability to cope with non-mainstream themes.

I don't know very much about bipolar depression, aside from reading biographies of Robert Lowell, the poet. I have to say though that Richard Gere is outstanding in this movie. It started showing on ITV2 and his performance drew me into the story- I had to watch it to the end.

It's a brave premise for a Hollywood film but "Mr. Jones" is let down by a flawed script. I was offended by the way the doctor was portrayed. Of course she was played by a stunning actress, of course she became attached to her patient- to the point of invading his privacy by looking up his friends from his time at music college twenty years earlier. Oh, and of course (SPOILER- in more ways than one) she slept with him as well. She offers to resign which keeps her from being professionally ruined – sorry, but I can't see a qualified and experienced psychiatrist falling in love with her patient, let along sleeping with him while he's still under treatment. The ending peters out as well- to suggest that they will become a couple, I suppose.

The hospital scenes are strong and moving, as is the the subplot about the young student. This could have been an interesting study of people in emotional distress. Too bad they couldn't match Mr. Jones with unsentimental and uncompromising portraits of those trying to help him.

30 January 2013. Richard Gere offers up a rather penetrating performance of manic-depression and the highs and lows of such a condition. Unlike 28 Days (2000) or Girl Interrupted (1999) there seems to be an imbalance in presentation of the movie itself and its highs and lows in a way that unfortunately distorts the presentation of mental illness. Lena Olin's character as Dr. Bowen, a psychiatrist, M.D. doesn't necessarily offer up sufficient character development to justify the movie's ultimate plot and dynamic interplay with Richard Gere's character as Mr. Jones, unlike perhaps a student intern that would have required much less back story and more consistent with the storyline. The climax of the movie is more of an American romantic drama instead of the more genuine drama that most of the movie itself held onto its integrity. The ending unlike the more Helen (2009) which might be considered stronger in its overall tone and theme, nevertheless is weaker in its depiction of the experiences found with such chemical imbalances.

This was Mike Figgis' first film after the rather wonderful and haunting "Liebestraum" and compared to that it's a disappointment.

As others have commented, Gere's acting is magnificent. I have a good friend who is manic depressive and Gere nails the condition absolutely. As others have also commented, this performance is straightjacketed into a contrived Hollywood vehicle with a laughably pat romantic ending. I was unsurprised to discover that the film was taken away from Figgis by the studio, redited, rescored and partially reshot.

A couple of points: of course Lena Olin's character behaves unprofessionally, that's made quite clear in the movie, so pointing it out as a flaw seems a little wide of the mark. What we in fact have is a slightly more subtle than usual rendition of the "psychiatrist is as nutty as the patient" trope - she is shown earlier in the movie to be extremely vulnerable and perhaps irrational after a failed relationship. Meanwhile Gere is extremely charismatic, as manic personalities can be, she is drawn to him out of her own depressed state and the time-honoured Freudian concept of transference does the rest. In addition the choice she makes addresses the notion introduced by Gere's character in the movie - how much is she prepared to give up?

There are also serious questions about "madness" touched on in the film - where does individual personality end and illness begin? To what extent is insanity a logical response to an intolerable situation? Perhaps these were originally to be explored in a little more depth.

I suppose this "accountant's cut" didn't do well enough at the box office for there to be much chance of a director's cut and that's a shame. It seems there is a much better film somewhere in here screaming to be let out....